Lesson Plan #3: Volume

Lesson Overview: The teacher will now make the connection from repeated addition to find
volume to multiplication to find volume. The formula for finding volume will be revealed and
used to find the volume of various rectangular prisms.
Resources or Materials Needed:
Spiral Notebooks
Layers Worksheet
Volume
Lesson 3 Exit Ticket
Computer with internet access
Projector (connected to computer)
Performance Objective:
Students will calculate volume using the formula with 70% accuracy.
Time: 60 minutes
Step 1: Pre-Instructional Activities
Pass back Lesson 2 Exit Tickets with any feedback written on them. Review what volume is and
one strategy that weve learned so far to find it. Repost this problem from Layers Worksheet:
Jace and Kylie were building with blocks. They both built a rectangular prism that is 2 inches
long, 4 inches wide, and 4 inches high. Jace says that he will add 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 to find the volume
of the rectangular prism. Kylie says he is wrong and needs to add 16 + 16 to find the volume.
Who is correct? Explain your thinking. Have students share what their responses were to this
question.

Show YouTube video to gain interest and to provide a visual aid in understanding layers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7g9kg1fQ-c
Step 2: Content Presentation
Have students grab out their spiral notebooks again to take notes. Tell students to draw a
rectangular prism that is 7 units long by 2 units wide by 3 units high. Give them some time to
decompose the rectangular prism three different ways, creating a new chart.
Direction
Bottom to Top

Number of
Layers
3

Cubes in Each
Layer
14

Front to Back
Side to Side

2
7

21
6

Addition

Volume

14 + 14 +
14
21 + 21
6+6+6
+6+6+
6+6

42 cm
42 cm
42 cm

Teacher: So how do we find the number that goes in the Cubes in Each Layer column of the
chart? Turn and Talk. (Be specific about the dimensions.)
Student: Multiply two of the dimensions together.
T: What do we do with the third dimension? Turn and Talk.
S: That is how many times we add the area of one of the sides of the rectangular prism.
T: Is there a formula or rule that we could use that would get us the volume using all three
dimensions without having to multiply then add repeatedly? Turn and Talk. Remember to be a
rule, it has to work every time.
S: Multiplying all the dimensions together. L x W x H
T: Yes, so the first multiplication expression finds you the area of a side of the rectangular prism
and the second multiplication expression is how many layers you have of that side to find the
volume or how many cubes fit inside of a rectangular prism. Do you think it matters which order

I decide to multiply? (If you have not had the opportunity to discuss the communitive property,
now would be a good time)
S: No, communitive property tells me I can multiply in any order and get the same product.
Give students the following rectangular prisms and ask them to find the volume. Share out
responses after students have had a few minutes to solve independently.
6 cm x 4 cm x 5 cm
11 cm x 2 cm x 2 cm
Area of base: 72 cm, height of 3 cm
Area of side: 9 cm, length of 4 cm
Area of front: 12cm, width of 5 cm
Step 3: Learner Participation
Pass out Volume Worksheet. Give students time to complete the Layers Worksheet working in
partners or small groups.
Step 4: Assessment
Formative Assessment: Students independently complete Lesson 3 Exit Ticket.
Step 5: Follow-Through Activities
Intervention: Pull students with misunderstandings on the Exit Ticket the following day prior to
Lesson 4 instruction.
Extension: Have students create their own rectangular prism to solve finding the standard
algorithm.